A moslem in Europe

A moslem in Europe

Being a moslem as a majority in Indonesia is easy. No one is questioning why you worship 5 times or why you wear long-sleeve dresses and cover your head in a hot and humid weather.

But, being a moslem as a minority is a different story.

I started to travel to Europe as a trainee in a short course for English teachers. Paris was my destination. France itself is the country which has the majority of moslem community in Europe. I found so many moslems when I was there, but the ambiance was not the same.

It was obvious that people see me as a moslem. I wore hijab. I might have been suspected as a terrorist or an illegal migrant. When I arrived in Frankfurt airport and was checked by the immigration, they inquired me with several questions and performed body-scanning (this might be the common procedure). Moreover, they also asked me to show them documents to prove my intention in Paris.

Many people asked me if I felt intimidated during my stay in Europe. Well, answers might be diverse. But for me, all the excitements to visit a different country for the first time outweighed the fear.

I still remember the first time I came to the class and met my trainer and the other trainees from English-speaking countries such as England, the USA and New Zealand. At that time, I didn’t feel intimidated because of my religion and my appearance. I just felt a bit not confident because of my English. Regardless of who I was, I got along well with all my friends, I was so welcomed.

Since the first day at school, I asked for permission to pray and left the class for a moment. My trainer, of course, allowed me to do what I believed I had to. He also offered me to pray in a different room, but it would take time to go there and I just decided to pray in a small room next to toilet.

My daily routine was all fine, everybody respected each other.

However, when it comes to a culture, I found it difficult to follow.

As a moslem, I never eat pork nor drink alcohol.

I was so aware every time I bought some food and make sure that it didn’t contain non halal product. I mostly ate vegetables and bread.

A friend of mine at the course always tempted me to eat pork. He said it was delicious and worth a try. But again, it was not my culture and I was forbidden to eat that.

He also suggested me to unveil my hijab because, he said, I was in Europe where nobody cared about what religion or nationality I was and it was a free country where I could do whatever I liked. But then again, it wasn’t my culture.

In some occasions, all of my friends celebrated everything by drinking wine, which, again, against my culture and religion. For me, I was so content just to drink mineral water, hot tea or hot chocolate. I was never tempted to drink wine.

So, every time it came to a party or a celebration, I never tossed the glass. It is believed that tossing wine with another liquor causes bad luck. I was just watching then.

I spent 70 days living in Paris and traveled to Belgium and Germany as well. During my travel, I was fine with the “moslem” status and wore the hijab.

Until then, in early January 2015, Charlie Hebdo was attacked by the allegedly moslem terrorists. I was there when it happened and can you imagine how I was feeling? Terrified.

The islamophobia raised up after the attack and I heard some incidents occured to moslem people in the aftermath.

I was hiding in my room for 2 days trying to avoid people since I might have been the target of those anti-moslem extremists.

Three days after the attack, I and one of my friends went out to Montmartre just to chill and relax. She convinced me that everything was okay and I came home safely as well.

Living in Europe as a moslem was not intimidating or daunting. People respected me as I respected them. I believe what goes around comes around and I believe that kindness is seen by your actions, not by your religion or appearance.

So, why scared to reveal yourself? As long as you are a good person, there’s nothing to worry about.